ARTICLES ABOUT DAN MAJERLE BY DATE - PAGE 2

Basketball: The Miami Heat placed Dan Majerle on the injured list with a lower back strain and signed veteran Willie Anderson, who recently left the Greek League, to a 10-day contract. Majerle was activated Thursday but played just once.

The Miami Heat activated forward Dan Majerle before Thursday's game against the New Jersey Nets. Majerle, averaging 13.1 points per game, was on the injured list and missed five games with a lower back strain. The Heat put guard James Scott on the injured list with a bruised left knee. Colleges: Former BYU basketball star Bryon Ruffner has been sentenced to 90 days in jail and fined $10,000 for his role in bilking a Provo, Utah computer company out of $200,000. Ruffner, 24, pleaded guilty to theft, a second-degree felony, on Oct. 25. He left the school the same day. Hockey: Keith Primeau of the Hartford Whalers has been suspended indefinitely by the NHL for a slashing incident Wednesday against Washington's Joe Juneau.

Bulls coach Phil Jackson didn't have to comb through the statistics sheet to figure out how the Bulls lost this one. All it took was Dan Majerle's game-winning three-pointer, which lifted Miami to an 83-80 victory over the Bulls Saturday night. Majerle's three-pointer came just 20 seconds after he missed one. But when Majerle, who finished just 3 of 10 from the three-point arc, missed the previous one, Scottie Pippen couldn't grab the loose ball before it went out of bounds.

So, just how many times have the Bulls played the Miami Heat this season? "Haven't they beaten us seven times already?" Heat guard Tim Hardaway wondered. No, it just seemed that way. When the two teams met Saturday night at the United Center, the Bulls already had beaten them twice. But this was a different Miami team. The Heat handed the Bulls' their first home loss of the season, using a game-winning Dan Majerle three-pointer to upend the Bulls 83-80 in front of 23,861 stunned fans.

The streak is history, and the Phoenix Suns hope it stays in the books for a long time. "It's been hard the last couple of days to look at the box scores," Kevin Johnson said Wednesday night in Phoenix after the Suns beat New Jersey 99-77 to snap a franchise-record, 13-game losing streak. "You see a team 0-10, 0-12 and then 0-13. It got downright embarrassing." The victory was the first for coach Danny Ainge, who took over when Cotton Fitzsimmons stepped aside after the team's eighth loss.

Heat 87, Suns 84: In Phoenix, Alonzo Mourning scored 20 points and former Phoenix star Dan Majerle made a crucial three-pointer with 7.6 seconds left and the Heat up by just a point. Even the return of Kevin Johnson to the lineup couldn't save the winless Suns from tying franchise records with their 12th consecutive loss and sixth straight at home

Kevin Johnson can't help but wonder. This is what happens when you are the only member of the Phoenix Suns who was here in June 1993 when they faced off with the Bulls in the NBA Finals. Charles Barkley was his teammate then, as were Dan Majerle, Danny Ainge and Cedric Ceballos. But now Barkley is in Houston and Majerle is in Miami, Ceballos is in Los Angeles and Ainge is the head coach, and his Suns--so little removed from their glory days--are nothing less than an unmitigated disaster.

Free-agent guard Dan Majerle is expected to sign a three-year, $8 million deal with the Miami Heat, a team he rebuffed last week, according to reports Wednesday. Majerle's rights were renounced by Cleveland. He wanted to return to Phoenix, where he played seven seasons before being traded last fall, but the Suns could only pay the league-minimum $247,500 due to salary-cap limitations. Majerle returned to Phoenix while on a trip to Miami to sign with the Heat. He had misgivings and didn't get on his connecting flight in Dallas.

Dan Majerle, flying to Miami to sign with the Heat, apparently had a change of heart during an airport layover in Dallas and returned to Phoenix. "The door is still open with Dan Majerle," Heat spokeswoman Kim Stone said Wednesday. On Tuesday, coach Pat Riley said he was on the verge of signing a free agent and promised a big announcement. He did not mention Majerle by name, although clearly he was referring to the veteran shooting guard. Majerle's agent, Curt Schoeppler had reached an oral agreement with the Heat Monday, The Miami Herald reported.

Dan Majerle, a tough, experienced guard with a good shot, may be on his way to the Miami Heat. "All I can tell you is that he is a veteran, he's a smart player and I think he will really fit in with us," coach Pat Riley said Tuesday. Heat spokesman Wayne Witt wouldn't confirm a deal for Majerle, a free agent, but said a signing announcement would be made Wednesday. Majerle, traded to Cleveland by the Suns a year ago, was considering a return to Phoenix, where he owns a popular downtown bar and restaurant bearing his name.